Ask a Dispatcher

Q. What is up with all the burglaries lately? There seems to be so many more than normal reported in the last month or so. What do you suggest to help protect our homes besides good locks on doors and windows?

Dear Juneau Resident,

JPD is working multiple burglaries. We have grouped them together and assigned them to a couple of investigators, a mini task force. Those folks are working closely with the drug investigators since there is a close tie between drugs and burglaries. Juneau has a drug problem which translates quickly to a burglary problem as users try to fund their habits.

JPD has found that people being home during the day scares off burglars who were expecting the residents to be at work and school. You could mimic this with a car in the driveway and TV and lights left on, not very politically correct to waste the electricity.

The second known deterrent is dogs. One person at home began barking like a dog and scared off a burglar, creative solution! Big mean sounding dogs are obviously the best. Audible alarms may scare off burglars but the burglars donít worry about losing soft fleshy parts of their bodies if they take a quick look around and grab an item or two. Burglars know police donít magically appear the instant an alarm goes off. One idea is to install an alarm that plays a recording of a barking dog.

If you are at home and believe someone is trying to get into your house or your car, hitting that car alarm or horn button on a key fob is a great option.

Neighbors who know each other and look out for each other are great security. You want neighbors to know what is suspicious and call police when they see something, like an unfamiliar car going to a house where no one is at home.

You want your homeís physical security to be good enough that burglars will decide to find an easier target. This means alarms or alarm stickers, good locks, closed and locked windows, the obvious stuff. Motion detecting lights are helpful as is trimming bushes so no one can hide near a house.

REQUEST FROM JPD BURGLARY INVESTIGATORS: Go through your house with a digital camera and photograph your valuables including the serial numbers. Juneau burglars are focusing on cash, change (in jars, baskets,etcÖ), computers, firearms, and computer games. Those items are sold for cash or traded for drugs. Finding those items in another personís possession or pawned is a good lead!